Advice for possible first modern tractor purchase

[nrbocke]

Just jumped from a 9N to an L3800. Was pulling a 4' cutter on the 9N. Wanted to up that, get a FEL and a tractor with more power. Found one with 187 hours on it. Mechanically it seems to be excellent. Down side of buying used is the PO opted not to troubleshoot a bad switch problem and did some creative wiring. Wasn't until I really got into it that I discovered it. I am dealing with that now but the machine is fully functional while I am troubleshooting it and will be a cheap fix once all is done. For what I paid for it, including a 5' Land Pride cutter virtually new and a box blade, I got a ton of equity going into it. it will do anything I need on my 5 acres.

I was going to mention that I also have been looking for a couple year old L series or larger and can't even find one. All I've seen is Bs and BXs. The few used Ls I've seen listed at dealerships (haven't found any private party) over the last year don't even have a logical price on them in my opinion. I've been wondering did the price of CUTs go down? That's the only way I can figure why someone would be wanting so much for used models. Seems like when I was looking 6 years ago (when we first go our place) CUTs were a lot higher per HP, but I didn't write anything down and could be remembering wrong. Again same question as the Ford how much under retail would even take to make up for the warranty and other benefits of new?

 

[workhorse]

Not sure of your specific area. Craigslist by me always has some L's that are reasonable but still high in my mind. I just got my 02 l3710 for 13k. FEL, HST, 1800hrs, pallet forks and Curtis cab with heat. Just for reference. I live on Craigslist and I'm familiar with local pricing. If your not in a rush,start shopping now and do day by day and more broad searches. You can score but it takes time. I was able to sell my rig and get my new rig within a week....But I had shopped for 3-4 months.

 

[RCW]

I live on Craigslist.

Gosh, my first/only experience with Craigslist was a year ago selling my Harley Davidson.

Set a firm price that was fair to buyer and seller for a good but 11 year old bike.

Had first inquiry within 2 or 3 hours.

Buyer committed in 48 hours, cash in hand in 72 and they loaded it up.

By the sound of it, the buyer was much like you; knew what he wanted, and checked it often. His inquiry was the first within a couple hours of it being posted.

Amazing!

 

[workhorse]

I'm a Craigslist junkie. It very well could have been me !!